Pickett Fire now in excess of 6,800 acres
The Pickett Fire has burned more than 6,800 acres in rugged terrain near Calistoga, Cal Fire reported Sunday morning. The blaze, which broke Thursday, was 11 percent contained.
About 1,230 firefighters have been assigned to the fire which continues to burn in the direction of Aetna Springs, the long shuttered historic resort near Pope Valley – and away from Calistoga.
Firefighting resources from all over California have arrived to fight the blaze which broke a little before 3 p.m. Thursday in the 2300 block of Pickett Road.
As of Sunday morning, 140 fire engines along with 24 water tenders, 20 hand crews, 34 bulldozers and 10 helicopters were also part of the fire response. Additional resources were expected to arrive Sunday.
“I do feel very confident that we should have control of this incident in the next few days,” Matt Ryan, chief of the Napa County Fire Department and chief of the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit said on Sunday.
Firefighters’ access to the fire in steep terrain has remained a challenge. So have hot and dry conditions. One firefighter was treated on site for heat exhaustion.
Erratic winds on Saturday afternoon pushed the fire across some control lines. However, firefighters, working with air support, were able to regain the lost ground, Ryan said.
A drone illegally flew above the fire zone Saturday, posing a safety risk, Cal Fire reported Sunday. That incident is under investigation, Ryan said.
Immediate objectives Sunday included keeping the fire east of Silverado Trail, west of Butts Canyon Road, north of Friesen Drive and south of Livermore Road.
As of Sunday morning, the response to the fire is estimated to cost about $3 million a day, Ryan said. Much of that cost was due to the air response, he added. Daily costs were expected to climb as more resources arrive.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, on Sunday said officials have applied for federal assistance.
His office is working with state and local officials to expedite that application, Thompson said.
Additional evacuation orders have been issued over the weekend, Including for areas west of Butts Canyon, north of Pope Valley, and near Aetna Springs.
Most the area is sparsely populated and includes remote ranches, Napa County Sheriff Oscar Ortiz said Sunday. Altogether fewer than 150 residents have been affected, he said.
The zones under evacuation orders as of Sunday were: POP–E001-A; POP-E001-B; POP-E002-C; NPA-E114; NPA-E115; NPA-E120; NPA-E121-B; NPA-E121-C; NPA-E122-B; NPA-E107-B; NAP-E108-A.
On Saturday, Thompson thanked the firefighters gathered at the early morning briefing at the Calistoga Fairgrounds.
Thompson, who grew up in St. Helena, recalled chasing deer in Swartz Canyon, one of the areas where the fire has been burning.
“It’s tough. It’s a rough place,” Thompson said, referring to the terrain. “Please be safe and thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Earlier this year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency canceled a $35 million federal grant to Napa County that would have helped pay for wildfire mitigation.
Thompson, who praised the mitigation work completed by Napa Firewise, has deplored that decision. “You’re putting everybody in harm’s way when they’re doing this,” Thompson said after a briefing Saturday. “It’s a lot better to pay on the front end and prevent these fires from happening.”
So many people in Napa County cannot obtain fire insurance, Thompson said. Those who can, pay “through the nose,” he added.
Jeff Parady, owner of Pope Valley Repair and Towing Inc. in Pope Valley, said firefighters have been staging at his house on Aetna Springs Road.
“That’s a beautiful thing, right?” Parady said.
The house is in an evacuation zone. So, his family is staying temporarily in a house near the garage.
The response to the fire has been large, Parady said. “Cal Fire has done a beautiful job.”
Across the street from the garage, Elijah Sosna arrived at 10 a.m. Sunday to open Pope Valley Market where he works as a clerk. He was still a “little anxious” about the fire, he said.
“We’ve been through a lot of fires before,” said Sosna, an Angwin resident.
The aera includes a number of wineries and vineyards.
Robert Foley Vineyards on Summit Lake on Howell Mountain was in an evacuation warning zone this weekend.
Owner Robert Foley said he plans to test vineyard fruit exposed to wildfire smoke once the grapes accumulates enough sugar later in the ripening season.
“We don’t bottle smoked wine. That’s just not done,” Foley said on Saturday.
Vineyards in Howell Mountain and Pope Valley have been exposed to smoke from the Pickett Fire, he said. “It’s really not that strong,” Foley added. Most of the smoke has been going to Lake County, he said.
“I’m pretty confident that we’ll be OK,” Foley said.
Parady’s family owns a 3 ½-acre vineyard on Ink Grade. Smoke taint is always a concern, Parady said. “But it remains to be seen.”
The cause of the Pickett Fire remains under investigation.
Cal Fire’s base on Sunday moved from Calistoga Fairgrounds to Napa Valley Expo on Third Street in Napa to accommodate the growing operations.
Hotels, wineries and other businesses have remained open to the public in and around Calistoga.
